Weekend attack in Sinai considered a national tragedy for Egypt

Mohamed Morsi (AP)

Last weekend ambush in Egypt’s Sinai region near the border withIsrael by armed militants who killed 16 Egyptian soldiers istransforming Egyptian public opinion. The public is furious at boththe army and the new president Mohamed Morsi for failing to protectEgypt, especially since it’s been revealed that Israeli intelligencehad warned the Egyptians in advance that an attack was coming. Eversince the Egyptian uprising began in January of last year, it’s beenpretty clear that there are political differences among Egyptians, butno serious fault line dividing them. But the exception has alwaysbeen with the Bedouins in Sinai, where violence is growing. In anattempt to try to bring the situation under control, Morsi fired hisintelligence chief on Wednesday, and launched “Operation Eagle,” withhelicopter gunships striking positions where the attackers arebelieved to be staying. According to an unnamed army commander, theattacks killed 20 terrorists and destroyed three armored carsbelonging to terrorists. Several Egyptian security officers have alsobeen wounded. Al-Jazeera and Al-Ahram (Cairo)

Europeans take extraordinary measures to keep Greece from bankruptcy

If anyone in Europe ever meant anything they said, then Greece wouldbe bankrupt by now, or by August 20 at the latest, when it has to makea 3 billion euro payment. But the European Central Bank (ECB) iscontinuing to bail out Greece, and is extraordinary procedures toavoid direct violation of EU and eurozone treaties. In an “ordinarybailout,” Greece might issue bonds that the ECB could then purchasefrom Greece, which would use the money to pay off its debt. But it’sillegal, under existing treaties, for the ECB to bail out any countryby purchasing its bonds. Leaked information reveals how the ECB willget around this restriction. Greece will issue the toxic bonds, butGreek banks will buy them, not the ECB. But the ECB will then buythem from the Greek banks. Spiegel